Sunday, March 19, 2017

Once upon a newspaper, I clipped these recipes. I'll put them here for safer and more convenient reference.

1. I made these cookies only once, because they are just too delicious (you know what I mean, wink.) (Even Opra says, that, mercifully she does not have a very sweet tooth. --Well, I do. I do have a sweet tooth. We were raised on chocolate and cake, in a land of milk and honey. And, the tahini is addictive.)

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Grandbaby is coming for childminding. The very smart daughter has to study for an exam.--Good for all of us. This is where life is really at. Hubby and I went to Lenten service in town last night. This is also where life is at. The pastor preached about a commandment. This is the kind of thing we rarely hear about. Surely law and gospel both need to be addressed.

Grandma is just making a blog post over her morning coffee to digest the morning news. Mind you it is yesterday's coffee. I always make too much and then drink it for two days. Someone should give me a nice barrista-style machine. It hardly recommends itself to comment on the news these days; there is commentary ubiquitously to be had. We can hardly stand the news and the commentaries any more. The spin cycle goes on forever.

But let me unload myself of these three tidbits. For one thing, as I am getting older, I feel there is a certain mental hygiene to keep writing about what is in your head and finding words to express what moves and agitates you. If it is not interesting to others, they do not have to read it. At least, I am not taking up airtime like those who talk incessantly about the same things. Also, we should try and do everything possible to help keep dementia at bay.

Anyways, number one, there was a story about a row between trans-women and feminists in Africa. This is not really surprising, because where-ever you are, really, only a woman can be a woman. It is just a fact of nature. So, a feminist said: "A trans-woman is a trans-woman". --This sort of statement is the height of insensitivity to a man who really wants to be a woman, we are always told. What may or may not be sensitive to women, who happen to be 50% of the population, does not seem to matter at all. That someone who wants to have their hair, breast, make-up done to be a woman, and understands nothing of what it is to be a woman, and then insists on being called a woman, is just incredible to women everywhere. As if women were their exterior. (Only a man could possibly think that way.) But they don't want to get it. They may be in mental distress but they are not the only people with distress. We cannot deny womanhood because a trans-woman wants to be called a woman under all circumstances. -- But these stories are so old now, I don't even know why I write about it.

As per usual the Bible is right with its simple formulation. "Male and female he created them." It is a loaded saying. Soon, they will clap you in prison for quoting this verse, so obviously biological in nature.

The other story was about "family offices" for the super-rich. It was a BBC story here. Families of super-wealthy billionaires make sure that the wealth stays in the family. They like to be centered in London, England, and that is where these offices full of advisors are, helping them grow their money, keeping it out of the hands of in-laws, and the government coffers.

It makes me kind of sad on this level of lobbying and news cycling we have been seeing and getting so tired off. Fund managers with huge wealth and others have been funding movements and news distributors, artists, etc. who will push different agendas. No doubt this sort of thing happens across the spectrum of opinion, but this march of women on Washington recently does make one think. How was is possible to mobilize so many women around the globe to walk simultaneously wearing home-knitted pussy-hats. No self-respecting woman I know would have participated in a thing like that. Where did they get all these women? Where did they get all this protesting masses? And what on earth where they protesting? -- They were worried there would be a loss to abortion funding and to gay rights. Pussy hats instead of baby hats. -- Let's not get into that right this moment. -- But I do wonder about the funding structure for all this organizing. Where ever the money is coming from, it just seems to squelch a proper dialogue of interested parties. Even I hardly want to waste my time commenting any more. Their strategy is working in that respect...but I have a grandchild to watch... Yippy!

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

For the funeral, I flew in some smaller planes for short distance flights (in Canada not so very short distance). At home, it was -30 below that morning, when leaving. But the time at the airport was magical. A woman was playing Bach on a piano just outside the security area in in front of the big windows by Starbucks closest to the viewing area. The seating was on park benches by the big glass front, and the effect was very uplifting. I did get myself a cup at Starbucks--though I think I am boycotting them, I forget why, just now. (What a world.) I am also boycotting Paypal, I forget why, also. They wrote me a note the other day, to please come back and use them. It must be getting tough for them.

Upon leaving at the other end, I thought it was quite magical, too. The sun was rising over the mountains fringing the lower mainland valley. I had a nice little banter over word usage with a man just before and during security. He had walked the whole maze before getting to security and I had skipped through them by the side, missing about 20 meters of useless maze-walking. We tried to find the best words for what I had done. He thought I had "got purchase". I thought I had taken "licence". Anyways, there were a lot of business travelers and they were a lively lot, reading books and talking things over.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

We have completed some traveling just now, the latest trip having been to attend the funeral of an uncle in Vancouver. He is the husband of my father's oldest sister and he was quite old when he died. He had lived a highly eventful life, born an ethnic German Mennonite in the Ukraine and into the time of the second World War. I heard his stories the first time when I was nine years old and could never forget them including the moral dilemmas and traumas he faced. He is one who told his stories over and over. His son said at the funeral that a movie could have been made of his life, and indeed, it would be an incredible movie.--But we are almost coming to the end of burying ethnic Germans who lived through the war and can remember it. As a great loss to world history, their lives tend to have not been made into movies.

A hymn was passed out to sing for the funeral service that I did not know.

Below it is in German, as it was sung, and in English translation, which I am providing at this time. The text is by Arno Poetzsch , 1941.